Elsa von Spielburg
Elsa von Spielburg is a character that first appeared in Quest for Glory I : So You Want to Be a Hero and later appeared in Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire. She is the secondary antagonist of Quest for Glory I : So You Want to Be a Hero (as the brigand leader) and a major character in Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire''. ''She is the daughter of Stefan von Spielburg and younger sister of Barnard von Spielburg. Background Elsa is the daughter of Baron Stefan von Spielburg. Her mother died in childbirth. At one point she asked the Weapon Master to train her, but he said that he won't waste his time training women, and she ran to Yorick crying. After her father was cursed by the Ogress Baba Yaga, eight year-old Elsa was abducted from the Spielburg Castle grounds by a winged creature (which was presumably a servant of Baba Yaga or her hut itself), after which she was enchanted (given spells of protection and magical amnesia) by the Ogress. Elsa then somehow came to be raised by the Brigands of Spielburg Valley. Having inherited her father's leadership and strategic talents, she grew to become the Brigand Leader with no awareness of her past, but fantasizing being an enchanted princess. She enhanced them from mere thugs to raiders. Her trusted friend, the Baron's jester Yorick, eventually found her 2 years later, but being unable to release her from Baba Yaga's spell, he chose to remain at her side as her Warlock. Toro was also the only other loyal friend who protected her. When the brigands attacked Heinrich Pferdefedern, she protected him and sent him to the healer Amelia Appleberry. She also led a band of 12 against Abdulla Doo, who noticed that the leader was always cloaked. She planned to move the band away from the valley the next spring. She was freed by the Hero when he threw a Dispel Potion upon her, breaking Baba Yaga's spell and restoring her memory. She teleported to the castle and sent the Baronial Guards to eliminate the brigands and redistribute the wealth. Rites of Rulership After the hero left the valley she drove the brigands away. She was called a hero by all except by her brother, Barnard von Spielburg. He considered her actions unladylike and unsuitable for his little sister. He expected her to wear dresses and wanted her to marry a nearby nobleman. He also didn't approve of her choice of Toro as a friend. She informed him bluntly how little she cared about his suggestions of her life and future. After Stefan retired as baron, Barnard assumed his place. Elsa left Spielburg due to the rift between them. She competed with the Hero in the Rites of Rulership. During this time she stayed in an island palace owned by Minos. Unbeknownst to Elsa, Minos was behind the king's death and was plotting to use the Dragon of Doom in a plan to retake his family's ancient rule over Silmaria. After Minos' treachery was revealed, she sided with the Hero against him. She was invited to Silmaria by Minos who had heard of her reputation as a heroine, and wished her to enter the Rites. He claimed she would make an excellent ruler. Elsa eventually becomes Queen of Silmaria, if the Hero does not claim the title himself. She is one of the four possible brides of the Hero, and is particularly well suited to a Fighter or Thief. She also assists in a side quest for the Thief. Personality and traits Elsa is a brunette in HQ/QFG1EGA. In all later appearances beginning in QFG1VGA she is reimagined as a blond woman. She appears to have aged between QFG1VGA, and QFG5. Titles and Nicknames *Elsa of Spielburg.Only appears when using playable Elsa see import save files mods *Hero *Brigand Leader *The Leader *Nibs *QueenIf you choose to marry her in QFG5 *King of Tarna/King of MareteIf the Hero loses or turns down the throne in QFG5 Gallery Image:ElsaCloseup.gif Image:Elsa-QFG1.gif Trivia In Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire, Elsa may be gifted weapons or accessories in addition to flowers and chocolates. She will accept any of the two enchanted artifact swords: Ice Diamond or Dragonsbane, as well as the Atlas Armband or the Amulet of Attack. If she is given these, she will use them in the battle against the Dragon of Doom. If given them at the battle, she will immediately equip them. Otherwise, she will start the battle with them equipped. She will not use these items in the battle against the Hydra even if she already has them. See also *Elsa von Spielburg (Hero-U) Behind the scenes *Elsa is a brunette in the original EGA version of Quest For Glory I, but is a blonde in the VGA remake and in Dragon Fire. *Interestingly, Elsa in the guise of the Brigand Leader in the EGA game is generally not described with any gender aspectsThe brigand leader wears a sword, and it looks well used.", "You throw the Dispel Potion on the brigand leader.", "You sense a strong magical aura on the brigand leader.", "The Brigand leader looks tough! This may be the toughest battle of your career so far.", except in a couple of line where it gives her gender as female.Narrator (QFG1EGA): "You see the brigand leader. From the look in her eyes you've only got seconds to live.", Narrator (QFG1EGA): The brigand leader is deadly with a sword. The magic spell that possesses her makes her an invincible warrior. In the VGA version, the brigand leader is described with male descriptions such as he or his.Narrator (QFG1VGA): "The Brigand Leader stares at you coldly. It seems he's not interested in chatter.", "The brigand leader taunts you with his stillness. You're sure that at the first wrong move, you'll become an ex-hero.", al though one of the lines indicating her gender as female still remains in the scriptThe brigand leader is deadly with a sword. The magic spell that possesses her makes her an invincible warrior. In QFG5 when discussing herself as the Brigand Leader, she seems to indicate that other brigands knew that she was a female (by her beauty), and only way she could get the brigands to respect her was to prove her prowess in combat.I did not become Brigand Leader by my good looks. The Brigands respected only the force of the blade. Therefore, I became very good with my sword and dagger." It's also clear that she always knew she was a female, although she didn't know who she was.Elsa (QFG1EGA): "I used to wish I was not a brigand's child but actually an enchanted princess. Now I know that I really was enchanted, and I don't have to be a brigand any more!" In all versions Brutus and Bruno know very well she is female and mention as such during their conversation where they also refer to her as "Nibs" and plan to murder her after she kills the Hero. *Depending on the timeline, Elsa is either 18-19 in QFG5 (Short timeline), or she is as old as 22-23 (Long timeline) *There is some discrepancies surrounding her dating with characters implying she was kidnapped when she was eight (Wolfgang), but another character saying she was nine and still at the castle training under the Weapon Master (Yorick). Other characters say she would now be '18' and was kidnapped 10 years before (Karl), that would roughly make her 'eight' when she was kidnapped"Elsa was a beautiful eight-year-old child with blonde hair and sky-blue eyes. She was the Baron's pride and joy.""She came to me in tears. After all, she was only nine at the time." This appears to be two characters misremembering the amount of time since she has been gone. The 'eight years' commentary seems to be the most accurate, as she was kidnapped 'ten years before'. *According to Lori Cole: "She wore a cowl that obscured her face. In one version of the book, she did wear a mask to disguise her gender." Elsa von Spielburg (unofficial) Elsa appears in the fan games, see Elsa von Spielburg (unofficial). References Category:humans Category:females Category:love interests Category:characters (QFG1EGA) Category:Characters (QFG1VGA) Category:Characters (QFG5) Category:thieves Category:fighters Category:good guys Category:Rogues Category:Warriors Category:Queens